Decadent Few

Decadent Few is a name used by at least two separate bands. One is an anarcho-punk and punk band formed in East London in 1984, and the other is a DIY post-punk band from Risca, Newport, Wales, active in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

East London band

The East London Decadent Few forms in 1984 with Kaya, Mike, Bernie and Mark, who come from Youth in Asia, and briefly Steph from Hagar the Womb. The first gig takes place at Studio One in Slough in June 1984. By then Mark and Steph have already left, and Gary joins on bass after being taught by Mike. Womble later replaces Gary, and this trio becomes the core of the group for the rest of its run.

Bernie leaves soon after, after which the band goes through many drummers. Some of those drummers record with the group, some play many gigs, and others only rehearse a few times. The band also uses keyboards, electric violin and, on one early demo, one of the first samplers to arrive in the UK.

Decadent Few plays regularly across London and elsewhere in the UK, often in London and the South East, and shares bills with acts including Flowers in the Dustbin, Tom's Midnight Garden, Stigma, Andy Lovebug & the Tenderhearts and the Wet Paint Theatre punk theatre company. The group also makes several trips to Ireland, but does not play in Europe, the USA or Japan. Its activity spans more than ten years and includes hundreds of gigs.

Musically, the band is initially linked to the anarcho-punk scene, although it is also described as drawing more from the early 1976–77 punk period. Kaya’s singing is compared to singers such as Alison Moyet, Billie Holiday and Timi Yuro rather than to the more familiar female punk voices often associated with the era. The lyrics focus on personal issues, stories based on friends’ experiences and life in London, rather than the usual anti-war or anti-Thatcher themes. The band also plays covers of X-Ray Spex and Penetration on occasion.

The group works in squat venues and small self-run clubs, pubs and halls in London in the early 1980s. It is described as having little ambition beyond playing music it likes, and its members continue to practise and write music while living in Kent and London. Bernie leaves Decadent Few in 1985, continues playing drums, and lives in West London.

Welsh band

A second Decadent Few is a DIY post-punk band from Risca, Newport, Wales, active in the late 1970s and early 1980s.